School Building Committee Begins Crafting Statement of Interest for State Reimbursement Program

A newly-charged Burlington High School Building Committee met on January 30 to take a first look at the work ahead of them in the coming months.

The first iteration of the BHS Building Committee worked with conultants from 2023 to 2025 to investigate the options for a new or renovated Burlington High School. The committee was asssembled following 13 years of failed applications to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), the state agency that reimburses municipalities for the cost to renovate or rebuild school buildings.

Out of the $1.5-million feasibility study completed by the committee and the consultants came an addition-renovation plan that carried a price tag of $330 million and would have required a debt exclusion approved by voters. The special election that would have made the project possible resulted in a No vote; this outclime left the Committee with an outdated school with systems that have outlived their useful life and without a clear path forward.

The purpose of the group has been redefined for the new year, said Burlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Eric Conti. This refreshed committee will "conduct a thorough review and make official recommendations on two critical financial and capital improvmeent initiatives. One is going to be the Statement of Interest through the MSBA [Massachusetts School Building Authority] ... and the other is potentially developing a recommendation around a Town Meeting warrant article to fund a multi-year maintenance plan for BHS and aiming for a fully-updated, ADA-compliant facility."

Conti wasted no time beginning to address the first part of the charge, walking through the state's application with the Committee and demonstrating the process for the public.

He began by outlining the state's rating of Burlington High School, highlighting the relative high square footage per student, small class size, and good condition of the building compared with other school buildings in the state.

Conti and Facilities Director Bob Cunha reviewed the state's evaluation criteria, which can be found on the MSBA website, as well as a set of 8 qualifying categories. Together, the committee agreed on the following categories for this submission:

• Prevention of loss of accreditation, given concerns about science lab facilities and accessibility standards
• Replacement, renovation, or modernization of school facilities including roofs, windows, boilers, and HVAC systems to improve energy conservation
• Replacement of or addition to obsolete buildings to provide a full range of programs that meet state and approved local requirements

The committee ruled out categories tied to enrollment-based overcrowding.

Subcommittees will soon be created to work on the Statement of Interest, with a district representative responsible for each area. They'll look at succesful past Statements of Interest for the state program and work transparently and publicly to craft the most compelling submission possible in the hopes that the school will be accepted into the program this year. Applications are due in April, and schools are notified of acceptance in December.

Like with other state-funded projects, if BHS is accepted into the program, a new School Building Committee would need to be formed and a new feasibility study performed. In other words, the work would need to begin again in earnest if the school is accepted into the MSBA process, though as Committee member Jeremy Brooks clarified, artifacts generated through this new process can be used to inform the statement of interest.

Regarding a renovation plan, the Committee will decide at a future meeting whether or not to put forth an article to Town Meeting later this year for consultant funding to create a long-term renovation plan. Building Committee and Ways & Means Committee member Doug Davison cautioned the group that they need to change their approach for future plans, separating out educational and non-educational space and trying to create a plan that will be more palatable to, and easier on, taxpayers.

It's not too late to get involved in the School Building Committee, and interested community members should reach out to Building Committee Chair Katherine Bond via email. "It's really important to have some people participating regulalry as possible," said Bond, "so we can get this project moved forward in a way that the community can buy into it"